1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to railway vehicles and more particularly to pedestal liners for pedestal trucks of such vehicles.
2. Prior Art Statement
There have been numerous railway pedestal liners proposed heretofore for the purpose of protecting the relatively slideable surfaces of a pedestal leg and journal box of a railway vehicle pedestal truck against excessive wear.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,618 discloses a U-shaped pedestal liner consisting of a bight and a pair of parallel legs which has an inserted nylon wear plate for the bight which is unsupported in the central portion of the bight and which is free of antifriction material on the outside surfaces of the parallel legs where substantial wear may also occur in a pedestal liner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,180 discloses a pedestal liner comprised of two main components wherein one component is U-shaped and made entirely of polymeric material and the other component is a sheet-like insert also made entirely of polymeric material.
Copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 30,035, filed Apr. 13, 1979, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,793 discloses a U-shaped pedestal liner having a bight and a pair of parallel legs and such liner is comprised of a continuous uninterrupted metal backing material defining the bight and parallel legs and antifriction material in the form of an ultra high molecular weight polymeric material fixed against the bight and parallel legs of the backing material whereby the backing material provides optimum support for the antifriction material.
Copending U.S. patent Application Ser. No. 30,036, filed Apr. 13, 1979, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,007 discloses a U-shaped pedestal liner having a bight and a pair of parallel legs. A first antifriction material is fixed against the bight and a second antifriction material is fixed against the parallel legs with the first and second antifriction materials being ultra high molecular weight polymeric materials having different wear characteristics.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,888 discloses a wear member or liner for center plate structure of a railway vehicle which has reinforcing material embedded therein.
However, in the highly competitive field of railway components, the need exists for a railway pedestal liner which has the requisite antifriction properties yet the construction thereof is such that it has high structural strength and may be attached to an associated pedestal leg in a high-strength manner.